Any sparky's out there?

A friend of mine suggested I become a sparky ... at first I thought WTF , now that is random .. then he went on to explain ...

Ok, he owns ~30 buy to let properties. As such requires the services of electricians and plumbers regularly.

He reckons he spends ~£9k a year on this alone and he basically said he'd put that all my way if I wanted to start up. He also said it is really hard to get an electrician these days and with the new laws, you NEED to have a qualified electrician to do this sort of stuff now. So its a good old supply and demand situation ... bad for him, good for the electricians

Now I have been thinking of starting my own business, sounds like being an electrician is like shooting fish in a barrel at the mo.

Also think about it, you don't need a premises to work from, so a few tools, a training course and you are a way!!

Rang up about it today and it costs £6.5k to become fully qualified/certified and will take ~8months (less if you are prepared to work hard as it is largely self learning like an OU course). electricians charge out at £35-45/hr

To my mind the laws of economics dictate I could charge £60/h and still get enough business to make it viable (only I don't have to work as many hours ).

So at £60/h if I worked 2 days a week and did ~8hr days, that is ~£4k a month ... or ~£45k/year!!

Not bad for only working 2 days a week, so what if I have no interest in being an electrician, it is not like I have to spend much time being one!!

Sounds like a plan doesn't it!!

its hard work .. you have to be an apprentice to learn it all first

i got some basic training at level two and this year will quillify as a electrical engineer..

It is good but it can get a bit samey working on just domestic try and get in commersial too thats mega bucks but then its gona take you quite a few years to become skilled enough.

[Rich]

Sounds sweet but you'll be lucky if things plan out as you hope. Your best bet is to become an adult apprentice and do a few months with a leccy and see what you think. The gas company I work for take on loads of adult apprentices some bad some good.

If you get a good company they might even pay for your training aswell as your course. I think you'll need abit of experience though before you start charging £60 an hour. Theres alot to pay out on aswell insurance tax course updates and so on. My mates an electrician and the mathmatics involved are more than you'd think so unless you like maths then think again. Anyway I'd say go for it what can you loose.

I'm a heating engineer by the way so don't listen to anything I say

just re read and ive wrote it like i am a sparky.... im not dont worry!

[dirtydog]

That's all good in theory but tbh if you want the work you'd be better off charging a lower hourly rate and getting the repeat business. Plus you then need to find 8 hrs a day etc. True you don't really need any premises to work from just a vehicle, tools (can be expensive for specialised tools) and some stock (wire all that sort of stuff). Your mate is right in saying that trades people are hard to come by, the property management company that i do a fair bit of work for say exactly the same thing. and before you ask no i'm not a sparky i'm a plumber (will be corgi registered in the next few months)

I have made the phone call, the course I looked into only caters for people that are interested in being self employed ... the tutor stated there is no point in doing apprenticeships these days... no one wants to be an apprentice when you don't need to be ... you reach the end of the course and you are a fully trained and certified sparky!!

As for can't charge £60/h as a noob, and require repeat work ...

I might know nothing bout being an electrician, but I do understand simple economics ... Supply and demand ... supply and demand

You don't need to hedge for repeat work either, there is so much of it out there ... and someone who is desperate enough will pay £60/h, even for a noob ...

So in all fairness, I could probably charge £120/h and still get trade!! Who cares if only a select few/the really desperate will pay that much ... You only need a days work a fortnight and you are still on ~£25k/year ... £25k/year for working 2 days a MONTH or 24 days a YEAR if you like ... I'd take that!!

[Rich]

It all sounds so easy. I'm sorry but if it was that simple then there wouldn't be such a demand for them.

Originally Posted by 1RichSV650

It all sounds so easy. I'm sorry but if it was that simple then there wouldn't be such a demand for them.

Eh?

[tigersaw]

I had a sparky come in today to do some install work, he spent most of the day with us, bill was about £225 including parts and certification - and thats an expensive company I use. (Rigphone - you might have heard of them being down this way), so I reckon your figures are a bit ambitious.

Originally Posted by tigersaw

I had a sparky come in today to do some install work, he spent most of the day with us, bill was about £225 including parts and certification - and thats an expensive company I use. (Rigphone - you might have heard of them being down this way), so I reckon your figures are a bit ambitious.

A colleague of mine had his bathroom re-done, full re-wire and lighting etc ... the job is all done now and 2 weeks later and the sparky still hasn't come round to collect his money ..

It is safe to say Mr Sparky isn't struggling for trade if he can not be bothered to pick up his ~£600 cheque

Anyway, how long did it take you to get hold of that sparky? If it is like my two friends have lead me to believe, it is hard work, so if you got them quick, you were lucky!!

Oh and @£35/h £225 is ~6.5hrs work ... at my rate of £120 that is £780 ... my point is some people that are desperate enough might well pay that sort of cash

Nevertheless, a more realistic figure of say ?50/h that is still >?60k/year for a 3 day 8h/day week, with a couple-a weeks holiday too!!